LOUISVILLE, Ky (WDRB) -- Just past glittery Fourth Street Live, tucked in between the Seelbach and the Brown hotels, is Sicilian Pizza and Pasta where two brothers and their crew have rolled out a thriving business for 3 1/2 years.
"My brother and I, we saw big potential down here, huge lunch crowd, big workforce. We figured downtown would be a good spot for us," says Chris Kopple. While the afternoon lunch crowd certainly enjoys the taste of Kopple's success, his neighbors in the two block stretch have not.
I'm always like, "Why isn't someone in there? Why isn't someone in there?'" questions Kopple.
There's about 345,000 sq. feet of ground floor space in the 500 and 600 block of S. 4th Street, but about half of it sits empty.
"It is under-retailed currently," says Louisville Downtown Development Corporation Executive Director Alan Delisle. He too notices the empty storefronts and the lease signs that hang in the window. Delisle is not idle about it, instead looking at certain retail stores to fill in the space. "Smaller, specialty retail, creative retail that's unique to the area. Ethnic driven," he says.
While Kopple thinks it will certainly spice up the area, his concern along with other business owners is, where will the customers park? "A lot of people down here, their biggest complaint is the parking issue. A lot of people say they would come down here but can't find a place to park or get tickets every time," says Kopple.
Delisle says, "We want to make it as easy for people as possible and we want to be as simple with more excitement as one as when they pull into a parking lot at a mall."
So with most mall parking is free, could it happen to downtown Louisville? Delisle tiptoed around the answer. "We're working on those discussions and it's premature to talk about the outcome of those discussions."
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